


Release the Controls, Open my Eyes

by Sherwhotreksings



Category: Doctor Who, Doctor Who (2005)
Genre: Action/Adventure, F/M, Hurt/Comfort, Romance, Slow Burn, Smut, and pining, but also tons of fluff, gosh there's a lot of pining, maybe? - Freeform, oh yeah, tbh not quite sure what this'll turn into but we'll see!
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-02-24
Updated: 2019-02-06
Packaged: 2019-03-23 14:29:18
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 3,364
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13789671
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sherwhotreksings/pseuds/Sherwhotreksings
Summary: Rose can't sleep. Exhaustion has taken over her life, and it's beginning to show. The Doctor takes her to a new planet to get her mind off things (things being a giant satan telling her she's going to die) where they encounter an alien.OrThat one time when Rose was exhausted and all hell breaks loose (or heaven...).





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Oh boy. This is the first Doctor Who fic I've written since like 2014, so take it easy on me. Also my first fic I've written since last year. I hope you like it!

Rose holds her cuppa closer to her chest. It’s almost night, or at least almost simulated night on the Tardis, and night means sleeping. Sleeping means nightmares. Krop Tor was a nightmare. She’s not sure why this one hit her so hard, or rather, she is but she doesn’t want to admit it. She thought she’d lost the Doctor. It’s not like she hasn’t thought that before, but this time was different. This time there was that shadow of uncertainty, that dread of the Tardis being gone. She was fully committed to dying right there on that planet if the Doctor didn’t come back.

Of course, she always believed in him. She didn’t doubt for a second that if he was alive, he would find a way to get back to her; she would find a way to rescue him. Ultimately he did, but there was a moment, and that’s all it was before they knocked her out, where she thought he might be dead. A world without the Doctor is not a world she wanted to live in. She was committed, either to rescue him or to find his body and die alongside him.

Committed.

She reaches up and tucks a strand of hair behind her ear, taking a deep breath before standing up.

The last week or so she’s been sleepless, only managing a couple minutes here, a couple minutes there, always with the Doctor.

She never sees him sleep. He tells her it’s because Time Lords don’t need it like humans do. He says he only needs to sleep once a week for around an hour and a half, or less than 15 minutes per day. She doesn’t think he gets that much sometimes. Especially now that she’s adopted his schedule. She can’t be sleeping more than ten minutes and he’s always there watching her, a concerned look on his face when she wakes up. She’s not sure what he normally did, back when she slept like a human.

She walks the halls looking for the Doctor, finding him in the console room. He’s slouched over the keyboard, long fingers typing away. She casually observes the tightness in his trousers over his bum and how nice it looks.

“What’s on the docket tonight?” Rose leans against the console, eyeing him curiously.

His brow is creased with concentration like it is when he’s trying to decide something.

“I was thinking...” he pauses, looking over to Rose. He steps closer and puts a hand on either side of her hips, tugging gently.

Her heart flutters. Rose puts one of her own hands on his, stepping into the Doctor’s personal space. “Doctor- I- ” She doesn’t want to tell him she’s been thinking of this moment for a long time, ever since the Wire, and if she’s honest she first realized how much she liked him when he was with Reinette for so long.

“You’re on the- the prisma switch,” he says without breaking eye contact.

“Oh.”

She can feel his breath and see his chest rising in long, deep measures. A heat rises to her cheeks, of course, he wouldn’t want this. He wouldn’t want to be anything but good mates. It’s just her sleep deprived brain playing tricks on her.

They stand there for a minute more before he breaks away, slipping his hand out from under her’s.

He flips the prisma switch. “I was thinking we could go somewhere. Since we seem to be up at night now, why not take advantage of that and visit a planet that’s only awake at night,” he says, spinning around the console as he presses buttons and flips more switches.

“Sounds fun,” Rose says absently.

The Doctor looks up from the other side, catching the tone of her voice, but misreading it. “Unless you’re not ready?”

“No. I don’t know. Let’s get out, fresh air and all.”

“Out it is!” He dramatically flips the last switch and the Tardis materializes on the planet surface.

Rose rushes to the doors, throwing them open. “Where are we?”

The Doctor gestures wildly. “Welcome to Thabeulia!”

Rose examines her surroundings as the Doctor takes her hand and leads her forward. The sky is completely dark, but the landscape is not. The flora glows all around them in vibrant colors. Trees dot the countryside with shades of pink and purple leaves. The grass grows in neon blue patches and the vines that connect it all can be seen through the dirt because of how strong their glow is. Various animals, or what Rose thinks could be animals due to their alien nature, dart in and out of the treeline.

“It’s uninhabited by anything but wildlife. The vegetation is poisonous to most living things. Don’t worry, as long as you don’t put anything in your mouth, you’ll be okay,” he reassures her.

She likes how he knows just what she’s thinking without having to say anything.

“Go on. Go explore, nothing will hurt you here.” He pushes her forward, shoving his hands in his pockets and rocking back on his heels.

She takes several steps forward and bends down, running her fingers through the blue grass. It’s not what she was expecting. It’s soft, not sharp like Earth grass, but also stiff. It’s beautiful. She walks closer to the trees, until they’re only a few feet away before she turns to look at the Doctor. He’s still by the Tardis, just watching her.

“Are you coming with?” She asks.

“Nah. I’ll let you have this one. Have fun!” The unspoken ‘be back soon’ hangs in the air between them.

She goes back to the trees, fingers brushing the smooth bark. It’s so peaceful here, so calm. She wanders among the trees, admiring the light they cast on the ground and the nearby stream.

 _Babbling brook_ , the Doctor would say, always one for alliteration.

She settles down in the light from a tree similar to a weeping willow, the branches tickle her arms in a soothing way. Soon she drifts off to sleep.


	2. Chapter 2

Rose wakes up with a jolt, hand on her heart. She’s not sure how long she was sleeping for, but it’s still night out, and the Doctor hasn’t come looking for her yet. She’s not sure how, but she must’ve caught up on a little sleep because she feels oddly better. She’s still exhausted, but she feels more awake, happier even. It was definitely the first sleep she’s had without a nightmare. Maybe the worst has passed?

She walks along the stream back to the Tardis, spotting the Doctor taking a nap of his own. She hangs back, not wanting to wake the Doctor from his rare slumber. He looks so different when he’s sleeping, with all his bouncy energy gone. His face is relaxed, the normal crinkles by his eyes gone. He almost looks his age when he sleeps. She can see the toll his hundreds of years have taken, normally hidden behind his smiles and quick wit. She’s seen more of his inner thoughts recently than she has before, but she’s never seen him completely unguarded.

She wishes she could lie down beside him and sleep. To feel his arms wrapped around her would be a marvelous thing. She’s thought about lying next to him many times. Her heart speeds up. Lying next to him… lying under him, they’re almost the same.

The Doctor opens his eyes like he could feel Rose staring at him and she looks away, self-conscious.

“I think we’re too tired for planet exploring, yeah?” Rose says with a slight smile on her lips. “I fell asleep, too.”

“Ah, well, maybe so. Better luck next time.” He stands up and holds out his hand, splaying his fingers.

Rose takes it and they skip back to the Tardis.

“Can we do something else though? I’m still too awake.”

The Doctor hums in response, shooting straight through Rose. She loves the way his voice rumbles at the bottom. She can’t help but picture the rumble she’d get if she kissed him. She’s heard the tone in his voice before when he’s being protective of her… or jealous. She bites her lip.

“You alright?”

She realizes she’s stopped walking. Shaking her head, she answers, “Brilliant. Just zoned out there. Snack? I’ll make some popcorn. Stay here.”

She can’t think that way about the Doctor, or at least she needs to get it under control. He’s said many times that he can’t be with her, can’t love her. That doesn’t mean she can’t love him though. She’s never said that in her head before. Love. She loves the Doctor.

A voice floats through her mind. _Yes. You love the Doctor._ _That makes you happier than ever. You want to have him. You need to have him._

Rose leaves the Doctor standing in the console room, watching her go, a little extra swing to her hips and a growing smile on her lips.

In the kitchen she throws the bag of popcorn into the microwave, watching it carefully because she has a penchant for accidentally burning it.

“Don’t turn around,” a voice says from somewhere behind her. The Doctor’s voice.

“Doctor, what-” She tenses.

_Don’t turn around._

She feels hands on her hips, in the same place as earlier, but from behind. The fingers dig into her skin. The pressure is strange, unlike anything she’s felt before, almost like it’s not really there.

_The Doctor’s fingers._

The Doctor’s fingers.

She can feel his breath on her neck, like before, but this time so close to her neck, almost touching.

_The Doctor’s breath._

The Doctor’s breath.

She closes her eyes, savoring the moment.

And just as soon as it started, it’s over. The pressure releases from her hips, the breath on her neck gone. She waits a beat before spinning in place. The Doctor is gone from the room. Her heart is beating harder than before. Her head is pounding.

The microwave beeps, bringing her back to reality. Somehow she didn’t burn the popcorn.

She sets the bowl down on the jumpseat. Her breath catches in her throat as she sees the Doctor in the middle of removing his suit jacket, button down, and tie. She clears her throat and he looks up at her.

“You know. I’m actually ready to go back out. I uh- woke back up in the kitchen.” She crosses to the door, bowl of popcorn forgotten, before checking to make sure he’s behind her. He is, wearing his complete outfit again, and she is startled by just how close to her he is.

“A deserted planet all to ourselves? Let’s see what kind of fun we can have.”

Rose’s mouth falls open. Fun? What kind of fun?

_You know the kind._

Her heart rate speeds up as she thinks about being alone on a gorgeous planet _-having fun-_ with the Doctor. A wave of exhaustion washes over her, followed by a wave of adrenaline. She shakes it off.

“This planet, in the future, will be one of those pleasure planets. It’s beautiful then, but like this, untouched by humanity, is even better.” He leads her back out onto Thabeulia’s surface. “This part specifically was never built on because of the cliff, they were worried people might fall off. If you walk that way,” he points to the left, gesturing wildly with his hand, “you’ll be able to overlook the whole west side of the planet, and that way, “ he repeats the movement towards the right, “you can see the east.”

Rose takes his gesturing hand and tugs him towards the west side.

The grass has grown closer to the Tardis, the vegetation very active. As they near where the Doctor says the cliff is, she has a strange feeling something is wrong. Some of the vines from the grass have formed a kind of netting between some of the trees. It’s not something she’d necessarily be concerned about in other circumstances, but that definitely wasn’t there the last time she was out here.

They reach the edge of the cliff and the first thing she notices are tall patches of the glowing grass, some taller than the trees, and the vines connecting and weaving their way around.

“That’s not right. That shouldn’t be there,” the Doctor says, concern edging his voice.

And that’s when she notices it. The same vines she’d be looking at has climbed up and over a large abandoned complex. The same building the Doctor said would be built years in the future.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ~and so I'm back, from outer space. I just walked in to find you here with that sad look upon your face.~
> 
> Oh yeah I'm back! tbh I completely forgot I was writing this story lol oops...

“Even if we did land in the future, this planet is supposed to be inhabited until the late millions when their star starts to supernova. I don’t see any supernovas, do you?”

Rose bounces on her toes. “So something’s wrong, yeah?” she says grinning. 

“Oh, something is definitely wrong.” He licks his finger and sticks it in the air. “I’d say we’re in the 15,000,000?” He pops his finger into his mouth and swirls his tongue around it. “15,001,005 to be exact.”

Rose watches, entranced, before shaking her head to clear her mind. “Let’s go!” Rose is pulling the Doctor back toward the Tardis, getting there in what feels like seconds, not noticing that the vines have grown up over the top, strangling the little light. 

They burst into the console room and the Doctor immediately gets to work on setting their course. They materialize below the cliff, right outside the abandoned complex. It looks much larger from close up and much more damaged. The twisted metal and broken windows are ominous, but not enough to stop them from charging full force into the building. 

The Doctor and Rose examine the large lobby.

“Why do you suppose it was abandoned?” Rose asks, looking at an oil painting of a lady lounging in the light of the forest that is hung on the wall.

“Not sure yet, maybe one too many poisoned berries?” the Doctor says jokingly.

“Dunno, but I’ll tell you what.” Rose holds out a web of pulsing vines. “I don’t like these vines.” 

“Those? They’re mostly harmless! Just a mutation of what appears to be Lubelia Penta. They’re an invasive plant on the planet Jasperuse. A tourist had some vine stuck to their shoe when they came here and it evolved to glow like the native plant life.” The Doctor drops his glasses onto his nose to examine the mess of vines closer.

Rose pulls her gaze away from the Doctor as she catches her reflection in the lens of his glasses. The lust is practically dripping from her expression. She’s got to cool it. 

Cool it is the opposite of what you want.

“But look how fast they’ve grown! In the five minutes we’ve been here they’ve already grown over the door.” It’s concerning, isn’t it? It feels like that should be concerning, but she can’t muster the energy to care. Now that she thinks about it, she doesn’t feel scared anymore.

“Ah. Then we might as well keep moving!”

A pang of excitement, like a bolt, hits her as the Doctor drops the vines and pulls her deeper into the complex. She loves adventure, loves the thrill of the chase, the constant ever present danger, but this is something else entirely. She knows what that sort of excitement feels like. This feels like-

The Doctor’s hand is on her stomach, the other grasped tightly on her hip. Her back hits a hard surface and the Doctor crashes into her, pressing his entire self against her. She can feel her heart rushing in her ears, she can see the Doctor is saying something, but can’t quite make out what. She closes her eyes in anticipation. She can feel the ghost of a kiss on her lips.

The Doctor’s lips.  
The Doctor’s lips. 

The ghost turns into an even pressure.

The Doctor’s kiss.  
The Doctor’s kiss.

A light sound escapes from the back of her throat. 

“Rose?”

Her ears do her the favor of working again. She opens her eyes to the Doctor standing some distance away. She can’t recall when she felt his hands leave her. 

“You hit that wall pretty hard. Are you doing alright?”

“Yeah-” she squeaks out and clears her throat, issuing a more definitive, “Yes.” She can feel the blush start to spread across her cheeks and bridge of her nose. 

The Doctor furrows his brow and tilts his head slightly. “You’re sure? You’re a little…” He points his finger wildly toward his own cheeks. “Ah- um- nevermind.” 

She blushes even deeper and falls into line behind him as he trails into the next area. They make a sweep of the complex, finding nothing but abandoned guest rooms and a groundskeeper room. They push through the vines around the open door to the patio area. Rose wonders if she should ask the Doctor about the kiss or just kiss him again. He’s pretending like nothing happened, or at least doing a good job of hiding his nerves. 

She knows he’s all nerves. He exudes confidence and assurity, but she knows that doesn’t mean he’s not a tangled mess of anxiety. His jumpiness at times, the way he dances his fingers across whatever's closest, be it the Tardis console or Rose’s leg. He likes to pretend that when he ruffles his hair or spins in a circle is just because he’s thinking extra hard, but she knows that’s when he has his moment of ‘what if I can’t figure this out’ and ‘what if I can’t save them’.

The view outside is spectacular. The rest of the buildings are laid out in a semicircle with the opening facing north, the complex they searched is the middle most building. A wide field full of tall grass clumps points like an arrow straight to the rising sun, the forest on either side providing punctuation to the scene. The plant life is still glowing dully, but it’s easier to see their true colors are bright neon versions of their glow. Rose has never seen anything like it. She reaches out and takes the Doctor’s hand, coming to stand next to him again. 

“You know, Doctor?”

“Hmm?” It’s more of a rumble and less of a sound of acknowledgment. 

She replays that sound in her head and lets a shiver wash over her. “I didn’t see any dust on the furniture. You’d think if this was abandoned long ago they’d have a big grimy layer on everything, yeah? So where’s the layer?”

The Doctor tilts his head to the side. “Could be a coincidence?” 

“My mum told me once, “Never ignore a coincidence, Rose… unless you’re busy with another guy. In that case, always ignore the coincidence.” She was talking about flirting and boys, but on our adventures, it turns out coincidences are never just coincidences.” She walks off the little stone patio and out into the grassy field, pausing for a second. She’s been ignoring all these coincidences with the Doctor, it’s could be a coincidence that he’s flirting with her. The Doctor is very handsy and she might be misreading things. It might be a coincidence that the Doctor has been extra… something?... to her; the combination of Crop Tor, nightmares, and their level of friendship. The kitchen thing was not a coincidence. And there’s no scenario where a passionate kiss is a coincidence. 

Something snaps Rose out of her thoughts. Something red steadily rising higher in a patch of grass nearby. She walks closer to it, squinting to see it against the sun. A shirt. It’s a plain shirt meant for a humanoid but one with three arms. Something crunches under the weight of her foot as she steps up to pluck the shirt from the grass. She looks down, lifting her foot up gently. Her heart pounds in her chest, hammers. 

It’s a bone. 

A long thin bone, five or so inches long.

Next to it are three others. 

She steps back and realizes they’re in a vague formation of a hand. She counts three hands in all. All clean of any flesh. All frozen, desperately clawing the dirt. The marks in the rust red soil still visible.


End file.
